Armor-plate.



R. RIDOLFI.

ARMOR PLATE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1908.

1,008,198, Patented Nov. 7, 1911.

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RIDOLFO RIDOLFI, OF FLORENCE, ITALY.

ARMOR-PLATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 16, 1908.

Patented Nov. 7, 1911.

Serial No. 453,373.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, RIDoLro RIDoLrI, a subject of the King of Italy,residing at Florence, Italy, gentleman, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Armor-Plates, of which the following is aspecification.

Having made practical tests with the invention for which I have appliedfor patent under date of April 28th, 1908, Ser. No. 429,791, I havefound that the best results are obtained by making the outer plate of asteel having great resistance to fracture and great toughness. Thisobject is attained by using nickel steel or other alloys having more orless the following resistance: point of fracture 100 kilos per squaremillimeter, and of elongation 14%.

In the annexed drawing which serves to illustrate how my said inventioncan be put in practice,Figure l is a vertical crosssection, and Fig. 2is a horizontal section of my said compound armor plate.

In the said figures, a is the outer steel plate, b the intermediatecushion of wood, c the case-hardened armor plate, d a second cushioninglayer, and -ethe framing of the vessel. It has also been found desirableto render the wooden pad between the two metal plates fire proof bytreating it with a solution of salts of boron or by any other known fireproofing process. The wood may also be substituted by other suitablenonmetallic material.

The result obtained by the use of a tough outer plate is that oflessening the perforating power of the projectile, with or without cap,and producing a deviation of the projectile increasing its inclinationwith respect to the surface of the target. The use of tough steel alsoproduces, on the passage of the projectile, the formation of anencircling line or ring around the point or neck of the projectile. Byeffect of the resistance 0pposed by the cushion of nonmetallic materialthe ring formed around the point or neck of the projectile cannot followfor any distance the projectile and the danger of a protecting cap beingformed by the metal of the front plate on the point of the projectile isthus avoided. Said ring has the following efiect upon the direction ofthe projectile: The projectile will perforate the front plate, andbefore coming in contact with the cemented or back plate, it will finditself seized by an inclined section located some centimeters under thepoint, with its free end (the cushion acting only as a sufficientresistance for preventing the movement of the point of the projectile)at about a right angle to the surface of the target. Under theseconditions, owing to its gyro scopic properties, the projectile willtend to deviate from said angle.

The necessity of rendering the wooden pad fire proof is because thefront plate, besides removing the cap from the projectile raises to ahigh degree the temperature of the point of the projectile whileperforating or breaking up the cap and perforating the front plate. Saidelevation of temperature in addition to modifying the temper of thepoint of the projectile, may in certain cases cause same to melt thusfurther diminishing the perforating power of the projectile.

Having now fully described my said invention and the manner in which thesame is to be performed, what I claim and desire to protect by LettersPatent of the United States is The combination with the hull of avessel, of a compound armor plate comprising an inner cushioning layerof wood placed against the hull of a vessel, a case-hardened steelarmor-plate placed against the outer face of the inner cushioning layer,an intermediate cushioning layer of wood placed against said armorplate, an outer steel plate placed against the intermediate layer, andmeans for holding the layers and plates to gether, said means consistingof headed bolts passed entirely through the plates and layers, forholding the same together, and also of headed bolts passing throughoverlapping ends of the outer plate, said ends being undercut.

In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

RIDOLFO, RIDOLFI. [n s.]

WVitnesses:

JOHN VAL. J AOKSON, J osnrn GIANI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

